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What is the most effective verbal instruction for correctly contracting the pelvic floor muscles?
Author(s) -
Ben Ami Noa,
Dar Gali
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
neurourology and urodynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.918
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1520-6777
pISSN - 0733-2467
DOI - 10.1002/nau.23810
Subject(s) - medicine , pelvic floor , anus , abdominal muscles , pelvic floor muscle , significant difference , abdomen , ultrasound , transversus abdominis , physical therapy , orthodontics , surgery , radiology
Aims The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of four different verbal instructions in correctly contracting pelvic floor muscles (PFMs), examined as a displacement of the pelvic floor by transabdominal ultrasound. Methods Fifty‐six female undergraduate physiotherapy students, mean age 24.2 ± 2.5 years, participated in the study. A 6 MHz 35‐mm curved linear array ultrasound transducer (Mindray M5) was placed in the transverse plane, suprapubically over the lower abdomen and angled at 15‐30° from the vertical depending. The participants were randomly divided into two groups: posterior and anterior. Each group received four different verbal instructions as to how to correctly contract the PFMs. Only one verbal instruction differed between the groups: “squeeze the anus” (posterior group) compared with “stop the flow of urine” (anterior group). Results In the posterior group, 27 participants (90%) performed a correct contraction compared with 17 participants (65%) in the anterior group, thus demonstrating a statistically significant difference in favor of the “anus” instruction ( P = 0.025). Forty‐seven participants (84%) exhibited a downward movement during the verbal instruction combining transversus abdominis contractions with breathing, that is, “take a moderate breath in, let the breath out then draw in and lift your pelvic floor.” Conclusions Our findings suggest that the most effective verbal instruction for correctly contracting the PFMs among 56 physiotherapy students was the posterior instruction of “squeezing the anus.” The majority (90%) of participants succeeded in correctly contracting the PFMs.